Texas Tech Alumni Association launches Lubbock chapter

Texas Tech alumna and graduate student Katherine Lindley wants to have the same opportunities for networking in Lubbock that her friends moving to bigger cities have.

So when she learned the university's alumni association didn't have a chapter in the Hub City, she worked to start one herself.

"I realized that a lot of my friends were moving off to Dallas or Austin or Houston, so my core base of friends that were from Texas Tech that I had things in common with were no longer here," said Lindley, who plans to start her career in Lubbock after she completes her graduate degree. "I was looking for that chapter, somewhere where I could network and make friends, and we didn't have one."

The Texas Tech Alumni Association recently launched a Lubbock chapter with the help of volunteers like Lindley, who will serve as chapter president.

Participating in the Lubbock chapter is an added benefit of joining the alumni association, Lindley said. Association memberships start at $50 a year.

Though new to Lindley, this isn't the first time the association has had a chapter in town.

Bill Dean, executive vice president and CEO of the association, said the Lubbock chapter has been active on and off for the past 30 years.

Lisa Low, director of multimedia and communications for the association, said changes in leadership and people moving away from Lubbock led to the chapter's languish.

Dean said many alumni associations struggle to keep a chapter going in the city where its university is located.

"When we go out on the road and talk to people out in Abilene, or San Angelo, or Haskell, or Graham or wherever, they don't know everything that's going on here," Dean explained. "We bring speakers and show videos and give them updates on what's happening.

"If you live in Lubbock, you pretty well know everything that's going on. It's in the news daily, and so it's harder to stimulate a lot of interest in a local chapter, unlike places away from here."

Lindley said one of the chapter's goals is to create longevity.

Low said the organization plans to host regular events in hopes of maintaining an active chapter - advice the organization received from other alumni associations.

"(The) caveat is, 'Make sure, if we're going to do a happy hour, make sure we have it the third Thursday of every month and possibly choose the same location, so you don't have to think about it,' " Low said.

The leaders aim for the chapter to become like the Dallas- or Austin-area chapters, with large groups attending a wide variety of events, including family activities, happy hours and fundraisers.

Lindley said about 25 people attended the chapter's first event, a happy hour at Blue Mesa the Thursday before Easter.

The next scheduled event is an all-day fundraiser Wednesday, April 24, at both Lubbock Blue Sky locations to help raise money for scholarships for Lubbock-area graduates to attend Tech - one mission of the chapter.

Dean said he hopes the chapter will encourage more of the younger alumni in the Lubbock area to take part in the organization. He believes getting recent graduates to participate has been an issue for most alumni associations for years.

The association is learning different ways the younger generation communicates, Dean said, including the Internet and social media. So far, the chapter's Facebook page has about 160 "likes."

"It's kind of a different situation than was true (in the past). Every generation has its own peculiarities," Dean said. "The older members we have right now are the most supportive and the most involved, so it's important we cultivate the younger members and get them involved, too."

brittany.hoover@lubbockonline.com

• 766-8722

Follow Brittany on Twitter

@AJ_Brittany

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.